Workout garment

ABSTRACT

A workout garment in accordance with the present invention includes a central section and opposing arm sections that extend outwardly from an upper portion of the central section. Each arm section further comprises a strap portion that is fixed to the upper portion of the central section on one end, and that further merges into a bell portion at the other end. The arm sections have an increasing taper so that the width of the arm section increases from a minimum width at the strap portion to a maximum width at the bell portion. To wear the garment, the garment is positioned around the wearer&#39;s waist so that the central section is positioned over the rear part of the wearer&#39;s trunk area, and the arm sections are then tied in front of the waist. When worn in this manner, the strap portions have sufficient length so that the bell portions extend downwardly and cooperate to establish a front panel, which hides the front part of the wearer&#39;s trunk area from view.

[0001] This application claims priority from Provisional ApplicationSerial No. 60/306,601, which was filed Jul. 18, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention pertains generally to clothing. Moreparticularly, the present invention pertains to a garment that isadapted to be worn around the waist during an exercise routine or otherphysical activity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is a well-known fact that many people exercise on a dailybasis. Reasons for exercising range from the desire to have a more fitand attractive body to more functional cardiovascular conditioning andstrength considerations. In general, many people have started to realizethat by exercising on a regular basis they can increase their overallhealth level and feeling of well-being.

[0004] The current trend in cardiovascular activities is toward moremoderate forms of exercises which are performed over a longer duration,such as walking, bicycling, low impact aerobics and similar types ofcardiovascular activities. Studies have shown that these types ofexercises are easy to perform and include many health benefits. Anotherincreasingly popular trend, particularly among women, is to combineweight training with the above-mentioned cardiovascular activities toyield a balanced, effective workout routine.

[0005] When people perform the above-listed workout routine, or indeedany physical activity, they perspire, and the perspiration often soaksthrough the clothing. For women in particular, this can presentunsightly stains in the center area of the women's clothing,particularly if women are wearing leotards or tight-fitting clotheswhich cover the buttocks, waist, hips and thighs. This can make womenfeel self-conscious and more reluctant to exercise within a groupenvironment such as a health club, for example.

[0006] To obviate this concern, women will often tie a jacket orsweatshirt around their waist. These clothing items, however, can oftenbe bulky and inhibit the physical range of motion, which furtherinhibits the workout and the enjoyment and benefits derived therefrom.Further, the jacket does not cover the front area of the woman's trunkarea and perspiration stains which may have occurred in the front area.

[0007] In addition to the above concerns, it should be appreciated thatpeople often tie a jacket, sweatshirt or similar type article aroundtheir waist because they are self-conscious about the appearance oftheir mid-section area, even when they are not engaged in physicalactivity. When this occurs, the jacket/sweatshirt is effectively beingused as a casual wear accessory. A jacket or sweatshirt that is used asa casual wear accessory, however, retains the bulkiness and restrictionof movement concerns described above.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,543, which issued to Lewis for an inventionentitled “Athletic Towel”, discloses a rectangular towel with opposingelongated straps which extend from the top edge of the towel. Duringuse, the straps are wrapped around the user's waist and fixed to eachother. The straps for the towel as disclosed by Lewis, however, are verynarrow. Accordingly, when the towel is oriented in front of the user andthe straps are wrapped around the user's waist and tied to each other,the straps do not cover the back of the user's trunk.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,441, which issued to Richter for an inventionentitled “Sport Garment For Women”, discloses a somewhat crescent-shapedgarment. The device as disclosed by Richter, however, does not have armsthat flare outwardly to provide a covering effect for the trunk area(front or back) when the garment is worn. Instead, the garment has adecreasing taper from a maximum width at the centerline of the garmentto a minimum width at the garment end portion. During use, the garmentis wrapped around the user's mid-section and oriented so that thecenterline portion is positioned over one hip while the end portions areplaced over the other hip. As a result, neither the front nor the backof the trunk area of the wearer is covered.

[0010] In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a workout garment that provides coverage for both the front andthe back of the trunk area when tied around the waist of the user. It isanother object of the present invention to provide a workout garmentwhich covers perspiration stains during use to thereby allow women whoare wearing form-fitting clothing to enjoy physical activity withoutworrying about people seeing perspiration stains on their clothing. Itis another object of the present invention to provide a workout garmentwhich does not inhibit physical movement when placed around the waist ofthe user. Another object of the present invention is to provide aworkout garment which can be wrapped around the wearer's mid-sectionarea as a casual wear accessory to lessen the wearer's concerns aboutbody appearance. Yet another object of the present invention is toprovide a workout garment which can be easily manufactured in acost-efficient manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A workout garment in accordance with the present inventionincludes a central section and opposing arm sections that extendoutwardly therefrom. The central section includes a lower portion, amid-portion and an upper portion, with the arm sections being fastenedto the upper portion. The arm sections each further comprise a strapportion that is fixed to the upper portion of the central section on oneend, and that further merges into a bell portion at the other end. Thearm sections each have an increasing taper so that the width of the armsection increases from a minimum width at the strap portion to a maximumwidth at the bell portion.

[0012] To wear the garment, the garment is positioned around the trunkarea of the wearer so that the central section is positioned over therear of the wearer's trunk area. The arm sections are then tied in frontof the waist of the user. The strap portions are sufficiently long sothat once the arm sections are tied in this manner, the bell portionsextend downwardly and cooperate to establish a front panel. The frontpanel covers the front area of the wearer to thereby hide the front areaof the wearer's trunk area from view.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The novel features of this invention will be best understood fromthe accompanying drawings, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdescription, in which similar characters refer to similar parts, and inwhich:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a plan view of the workout garment of the presentinvention.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the workout garment of FIG. 1when worn by a user.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the workout garment of FIG.2.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the workout garment of FIG.2.

WRITTEN DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Referring now to the drawings, the workout garment of the presentinvention is shown and is generally designated by reference number 10.As shown, the garment includes a central section 12 and two opposingouter arm sections 14 a, 14 b that extend outwardly from the centralsection in a manner hereinafter described.

[0019] As perhaps best seen in FIG. 1, the central section includes alower portion 16 which merges into mid-portion 17, which further mergesinto upper portion 24. The lower portion and mid-portion are defined bya bottom edge 18 with a slightly rounded shape, with bottom edge 18merging into rounded corners 20, 20. Rounded corners 20, 20 furthermerge into side edges 22, 22. The side edges 22 are rounded inward sothat central section 12 has a decreasing taper from a maximum centralsection width at lower portion 16 to a minimum central section width atupper portion 17 just below arm sections 14 a, 14 b, as best seen inFIGS. 1-2. Upper portion 24 terminates at a straight top edge 26 whichextends transversely across central section 12, as shown in the Figures.

[0020] An elastic waistband (not shown) can be incorporated into centralsection near top edge 26 in a manner well known in the prior art. Asshown in FIG. 1, the elastic waistband causes the material in thecentral section to gather proximate top edge 26. When garment 10 isdonned by user 29 (partially shown in phantom in FIGS. 2-4), thegathered material becomes smooth (as shown in FIG. 2) to allow thegarment to closely conform to the user for a more comfortable fit.

[0021] FIGS. 2-4 illustrate the preferred manner of wearing garment 10.As shown in FIGS. 2-4, when the garment is worn by user 29, the centralsection extends downwardly and covers the rear of the user's trunk area.This allows the central section for the garment to cover any unsightlyperspiration stains that may have formed on the rear of the user'sclothing, to thereby provide the user with added comfort, confidence andself-esteem advantages. This further eliminates the practice ofpositioning heavy sweaters, sweatshirts or jackets around the user'swaist during physical activities, while also providing less restrictionof physical movement for the user.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1-2, the garment could optionally include alogo patch 40 which is sewn onto outer surface 33 of the garment atcentral section 12. The logo patch could function as an eye-catchingaccessory due to the displayed design thereon.

[0023] As mentioned above, the workout garment of the present inventionincludes two opposing arm sections 14 a, 14 b, with each arm sectionextending from a corresponding side edge 22. Preferably the arm sections14 a, 14 b extend from the upper portion 24 of central section 12. Eacharm section comprises a strap portion 28 having a strap portion width.The strap portion merges into an outwardly flared bell portion 30 havinga maximum bell portion width that is greater than the strap portionwidth, as shown in the Figures. The strap portions must be sufficientlylong so that the bell portions are oriented as described below when thegarment is donned by user 29.

[0024] As mentioned above, the user 29 dons garment 10 by tying the armsections around the waist so that the garment rests on the user hips andthe central section covers the rear of the user's trunk area. When wornin this manner, the arm sections extend downwardly from the waist areaof the user, and flared structure of the bell portions establishes afront panel 35, which covers the front of the trunk area of the user andhides this area from view, as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the workoutgarment of the present invention further provides the increased comfort,confidence and self-esteem advantages described above.

[0025] As shown in the FIGS. 2-4, each arm section can include a pocket32 which is sewn onto outer surface 33 of the garment near centralsection 12. When the garment is worn by user 29, this positions thepockets 32 approximately over each hip of the user. The above-mentionedstorage pockets could contain a wide array of necessities which couldconveniently be housed in the workout garment. These accessories includekeys, money, feminine hygiene products, and the like and are not shownin the drawings. Although two pockets 32 are shown, is to be appreciatedthat only one pocket could be sewn on to the workout garment and locatedon outer surface 33 as desired, according to consumer aesthetics desiresand manufacturing cost considerations.

[0026] The garment of the present invention further includes adrawstring 34 to facilitate attachment of the garment to the user duringwear. The drawstring is inserted from outer surface 33 into grommet 36 aand threaded along inner surface 31 and then further threaded throughgrommet 36 b to extend from outer surface 33 of garment 14. When thegarment is worn by the user, and as shown in FIG. 4, the ends of thedrawstring can then be tied in a manner known in the prior art toposition the garment around the user.

[0027] Each arm section 14 a, 14 b further includes a correspondingattachment patch 38 a, 38 b. Attachment patch 38 a is fixed to armsection 14 a on inner surface 31. The remaining patch 38 b is fixed toarm section 14 b on outer surface 33. When the garment is worn,attachment patch 38 a is mated to attachment patch 38 b to thereby fixthe garment around the waist of the user. In the preferred embodiment,the patches 38 are made of a Velcro® material.

[0028] The workout garment of the present invention could bemanufactured from any and all types of pliable fabrics that are known inthe prior art. These fabrics include, but are not restricted to, cotton,nylon, rayon, and other synthetic material, wool, and the like. Thesefabrics could be sheared to size using power shears, according topredetermined patterns and then seamed or otherwise stitched as known inthe prior art. Finishing of the garment could include the placement ofVelcro® components as described above.

[0029] From the above, it can be gleaned that the garment is preferablymanufactured as a panel-like structure. It is to be appreciated,however, the garment could also be manufactured so that the arm sectionsare sleeves and so that the central section has a neck opening (notshown in the Figures). This manner of manufacture would allow thegarment 10 to function as a pullover shirt, which could then be removedas desired by the user, yet still perform the above-described functionswhen the user ties the garment around the user's waist. Because thestrap portions of the arm sections are much longer than normal sleeves,and the flared nature of the bell portions, however, the arm sectionmaterial gathers on the arms of the user if the garment was manufacturedand worn in this manner.

[0030] While the particular workout garment, as herein shown anddisclosed in detail, is fully capable of obtaining the objects andproviding the advantages above stated, it is to be understood that thepresently preferred embodiments are merely illustrative of theinvention. As such, no limitations are intended other than as defined inthe appended claims to follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment comprising: a central section; opposingarm sections extending from said central section and having an armsection width; and, said arm section widths having an increasing taperfrom a minimum arm section width proximate said central section to amaximum arm section width at said arm ends.
 2. The garment of claim 1wherein said central section further comprises a lower portion,mid-portion and upper portion and said arm sections extend from saidupper portion.
 3. The garment of claim 2 wherein said lower portion hasa lower width and said upper portion has an upper width and said lowerwidth is greater than said upper width.
 4. The garment of claim 3further comprising a logo fastened to said lower portion.
 5. The garmentof claim 1 further comprising at least one pocket fastened to one ofsaid arm sections.
 6. A clothing article for covering the trunk area ofa wearer, said article comprising: a central section for covering a rearpart of said trunk area when said wearer dons said article; at least onestrap portion attached to said central section; each said strap portionmerging into a bell portion; and, said bell portions cooperating to forma front panel for covering a front part of said trunk area when saidwearer dons said article.
 7. The garment of claim 6 wherein said centralsection further comprises a lower portion, mid-portion and upper portionand said strap portion extends from said upper portion.
 8. The garmentof claim 7 wherein said lower portion has a lower width and said upperportion has an upper width and said lower width is greater than saidupper width.
 9. The garment of claim 8 further comprising a logofastened to said lower portion.
 10. The garment of claim 6 furthercomprising a pocket fastened to said strap portion.
 11. A method forwearing a garment around the waist of a user to simultaneously cover afront part and a rear part of the trunk area of said user duringphysical activity, said method comprising the steps of: A) providing acentral section; B) forming two arm sections with an increasing taperfrom a minimum width at a first end to a maximum width at a second endso that the arm sections flare outwardly in a bell-like configuration;C) attaching said first ends to opposing sides of said central sectionso that said arm sections extend outwardly therefrom; D) wrapping saidgarment around said waist so that said central section covers said rearpart and said arm sections extend downwardly and cooperate to establisha front panel that covers said front part.